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Letters from page 6
The U.S. Must Free
Jonathan Pollard Now
The French had Dreyfus and sentenced
him to life at Devils Island for some-
thing he did not do.
He was finally released
after four years when
Emil Zole wrote I
Accuse and stated
Dreyfus was not guilty
and was not tried and
sentenced properly.
We now have
Jonathan
Jonathan Pollard
Pollard
imprisoned for almost
30 years for reasons
that have never been publicly stated.
The media does not know what he did
to deserve imprisonment except for the
statement that he gave classified infor-
mation to Israel, a friend of the U.S.
If Pollard gave classified secret infor-
mation to Israel, was the information
needed by Israel to save lives of its citi-
zens or soldiers?
In the early part of 1980, the Soviet
Union was doing strange things that
might result in the cold war becom-
ing a hot war. The Soviet army invaded
Afghanistan. Soviet Warsaw Pact troops
were increased along NATO lines and
East Berlin with more infantry and
tanks.
The United States had not fought a
major tank war since World War II. The
Pentagon was concerned that we could
suffer losses of troops in fighting with
the Soviet army and tanks and wanted
to know what could be done to save the
lives of our troops in battling the Soviet
army tanks and missiles.
I received an Army notice that we
should do all we could to increase the
security of our troops and save lives of
our soldiers.
I contacted Col. Nathan Peled, the
Israel liaison officer assigned to the U.S.
Tank Automotive Command. I requested
him to bring me all the information on
how the Israeli Defense Forces saved the
lives of its soldiers and tanks when they
fought Arab armies using Soviet Tanks
and anti-tank weapons and missiles.
Two days later, Col. Peled told me be
could not bring me that Israeli informa-
tion since it was classified secret. I told
him I did not care because it was need-
ed by the U.S. Army to save the lives of
our troops. I told him have the Israeli
Embassy call Israeli General Tuvia
Margalit and tell him that I wanted the
Israeli classified secret information. Two
days later, he brought me 50 pages on
how Israel trained troops and saved the
lives of their soldiers fighting against
Soviet tanks and anti-tank weapons.
I sent the original Hebrew copy and
the translations to the Pentagon. I
attached a suggestion that the U.S. Army
not only read the information but also
send troops to Lebanon where Israel
was then fighting against Syria's Soviet
tanks and anti-tank missiles.
The Pentagon sent me a message to
get my troops and go to Lebanon, and I
went with a team of Army Research and
Development Engineers.
Later, the U.S. and Israel signed a
memorandum of agreement to exchange
a scientist engineer. Israel sent their sci-
entist engineer to be here to be with the
U.S. Army, and I was sent to Israel and
I served as the Exchange U.S. Scientist
Engineer assigned to the Israeli Army
Ordnance Headquarters. This was in
1990 and 1991 when Saddam Hussein
was firing missiles into Israel.
An Israeli officer then said to me, "It
was good and excellent that we received
timely information from the U.S. about
Saddam Hussein's nuclear facility he
was building to create nuclear weapons
so we then sent our planes to bomb that
facility otherwise he would have nuclear
bombs and bombed your troops that
were then fighting Saddam Hussein's
army to free Kuwait and he also would
try to bomb us."
Is that the secret classified informa-
tion that Pollard provided to Israel?
It could have been because we do
not know what the message stated that
was given to the judge who sentenced
Pollard. Even his attorney who defended
him in court did not know what was
the statement contained in the message
given to the judge.
I firmly believe that Pollard has
served sufficient time and should be
released and that the public should
now know and be told what he was sen-
tenced for. What did the message given
to the judge state?
Did Israel commit a crime when they
released to me their non-releasable
secret classified information that I
requested and I needed to save the lives
of our U.S. Army soldiers?
France had their innocent Dreyfus
imprisonment and we have had a worse
imprisonment situation with Pollard. It
is time Pollard was released.
Do it now.
Dr. Wilbert Simkovitz, PE JD
Troy
Obama Is A Strong
Friend Of Israel
So let me get this straight. The Jewish
people have faced hatred for centuries,
Israel has been at
war basically since its
inception, its isolation
grows deeper every year
and the tide of world
opinion is now decid-
edly pro-Palestinian
(including the voices
Barack Obama of the Pope and Nelson
Mandela). Yet to listen
to President Obama's
critics you'd think he could singlehand-
edly reverse all this with the wave of his
magic wand.
The man just stood before the
United Nations and told the world that
"America's commitment to Israel's
security is unshakeable, and our friend-
ship with Israel is deep and enduring."
Palestinians are now holding massive
anti-Obama rallies in Ramallah, calling
him "the head of the snake."
Soon, he will face even more of
the world's wrath when he vetoes
Palestinian statehood in the U.N.
Security Council.
He's at the center of the most heated
and insolvable conundrum in human
history, yet according to his critics he's
no friend to Israel and is actually the
reason why Israel finds itself in this
mess.
Really?
Mark Jacobs
Farmington Hills
Holiday Tickets Should
Have Remained Free
When I was in my 30s, and searching
for a congregation to affiliate with, I was
dismayed by the cost of tickets to attend
High Holiday services. ("Pay To Pray,"
Sept. 22, page 10).
Not making that much money at the
time, but not wanting to accept charity, I
would request if a ticket could be sold on
a sliding scale. In one case, I was told to
come in with my check book and previous
tax return to be reviewed by their staff
before a discounted ticket would be grant-
ed me. I vowed then that I would never
again beg to attend any congregation.
For the last 17 years I have been a
member and active participant with
Congregation T'Chiyah. For years, I have
been able to invite others who have been
in my situation to visit with dignity for
High Holiday and other services. It was a
shock to me and other members that we
are now charging for tickets.
Charging for tickets just might be
enough to turn someone away who is
looking for that warm and welcoming
congregation we espouse to be.
Peter Cooper
Oak Park
Wallach Has Shown
Great Integrity At FPS
It was an honor to serve on the
Farmington Public School (FPS) board
for five years. Serving the public with
Howard Wallach and learning from him
while admiring his steadfast integrity was
my honor. Howard always has the kids
of the district foremost on his mind and
never wavers from what is best for the
families of FPS.
Seven years ago, a small group of par-
ents were opposed to teacher Elias Kahlil
instructing the International Affairs
History class, as they were afraid he
would teach anti-Israel rhetoric.
Howard was the chair of the Anti-
Defamation League at the time. The
executive committee of the ADL became
aware of the situation and contacted our
former superintendent to support the
adoption of the world affairs class and
offered its assistance.
This class has now been taught for at
least seven years and none of the fears of
this small group have ever come to frui-
tion. This teacher was then, and is cur-
rently one of Farmington's finest.
Our children have benefited greatly
from such world-class curricula. Howard
was later appointed to the school board.
The Farmington district has been under
his honest, trustworthy eye ever since.
The same groups of people are now
opposed to the sale of Eagle Elementary
School to the Islamic Cultural
Association. Notice a theme here? Bigotry
then and bigotry now. Same people, same
theme, and always alerting the media
when they want to cause a stir.
In the Eagle School matter, your school
board acted with integrity. You can be
proud. I would have never wanted to be
associated with anything less during my
tenure. I was always proud to be a part of
this great team.
Howard has led the district twice as
president. The board feels secure with
his knowledge, patience and leadership
skills. His vast history of public service
for many organizations make him the
perfect school board member to continue
to deal with the delicate issues that face
public education.
Pamela D. Buck-Christian
Former FPS Board Member
September 29 2011
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